Offal recipes even the squeamish will love

Each type of innard has its own texture (one of the reasons I like them) and they are usually more strongly flavoured than other types of meat (another plus). Other reasons to seek them out: they tend to be economical (well, not foie gras or sweet­breads) and score highly in the ethics of not wasting food. After all, if you are going to kill an animal for food, the whole thing should be eaten, not just the prime cuts.

Stir-fried chicken hearts with Chinese sausage and dried mushrooms

You can make this with chicken hearts only or with a combination of hearts, gizzards and livers. With both, you can buy enough to feed two or three (because innards are hearty) for about HK$70.

4-6 dried mushrooms, depending on size
450 grams chicken hearts (or hearts, gizzards and livers)
2 laap cheong (air-dried Chinese sausages)
1 thin slice fresh ginger, peeled
2-3 garlic cloves
2 banana chillies
4 spring onions
10ml soy sauce
10ml rice wine
¼ tsp granulated sugar
1/8 tsp fine sea salt
A pinch of ground white pepper
2 tsp cornstarch
Oil, for stir-frying

Rinse the mushrooms briefly under running water, then trim off the stems. Put the mush­room caps in a bowl of warm water and leave for several hours, or until they are fully hydrated, turning them over occasionally.

If using only chicken hearts, squeeze them so any blood inside is extracted. If using a combination, squeeze the chicken hearts to remove the blood; trim off and discard any tough parts from the gizzards, then cut them in half; and separate the two lobes of the liver and cut away any connective tissue and visible veins.

Squeeze the liquid from the mushroom caps and slice them about 6mm thick. Slice the laap cheong and banana chillies on the diagonal into 5mm-thick pieces. Thinly slice the garlic. Cut the spring onions into 4cm lengths. In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, rice wine, sugar, sea salt and pepper. Put the cornstarch into another small bowl and add about 50ml of the liquid used to soak the mushrooms.